Good Morning, Darlings!

I know I have been a bit incommunicado lately, but I have been so darn busy! This weekend Eric and I kicked off Friday with a very quiet evening for just the two of us. Saturday was an up and at ’em kind of day busy with Sugar Coma, the first of many event-based soirees planned and executed by my friend, Shameeka, also known as The Broke Socialite, and the “Gail to her Oprah”, the adorable Denise. We had to be at the site by 8:30 a.m., and if you didn’t know, we are not really early riser types. But this was also Holly’s birthday, so it was well worth it. Chioke and Taruan picked us up by 8 a.m. and we were off. Sleepy, but on our way.

The meeting spot was at Fais Do-Do, a fabulous event space in West Atlanta. Once there, we were given our car assignments. Not just any car, mind you, but the 2010 Cadillac SRX. Oh boy, was it swanky! Perfect wheels for the perfect chauffeur – my darling Eric. He was so sweet to get up so early to squire us all around. So off we went, Eric driving, Holly kind of navigating (the vehicle had On Star!), and Chioke, Taruan and me in the backseat, playing with all the buttons like Tom Hanks in the limo from the movie “Big”.

First stop: No Mas Cantina.  I have been a fan of Steve and the boys from No Mas for years. Way before they moved into their spectacular digs on Castleberry Hill. The charming Doug was our host this morning and did No Mas ever pull out all the stops for us! They not only had the yummiest Mexican Hot Chocolate (my absolute favorite), but the most fabulous breakfast buffet. There were Eggs Benedict, Breakfast Burritos, Poached Eggs on Potato Cakes topped with Salsa Verde, Blueberry Corn Cakes and Quesadillas stuffed with Strawberries and Cream Cheese. They also gave us a lovely gift bag with gift certificates for our return visit! And of course, we’ll be back, we live 3 minutes from this gorgeous restaurant. Oh, and we shopped. If you visit No Mas, try to go early before the store closes. You will not regret it. They carry my favorite candles on the planet (Trapp #13 – Bob’s Flower Shop, in case you were wondering…)

But there were many more stops yet. Next up…

Cacao Atlanta. A lavish little chocolate laboratory owned by Kristin Hard. Kristin and I go way back to our days working together at The Warren City Club when she was the General Manager and I was the Event Coordinator. Chocolate making was Kristin’s passion then and it is wonderful to see the fruits of her labor. This space is uber-glamorous like Kristin herself and the chocolate was to die for. There were cups of delicious hot chocolate for us topped with homemade marshmallows (have you ever made a marshmallow? I will show you how later this week.) Kristin gave a most entertaining talk about how her cocoa beans are procured (she is tramping through major global forests for these beans, y’all) and how they process the beans to become the city’s most high-end confections. Even though the shoppe is tiny, you could spend hours in there, just coveting everything.

Time to get back in the SRX for a luxurious ride to our third shop – Joli Kobe Cafe and Bakery in Midtown.  I have loved Joli Kobe’s curried chicken salad for years, but had never sampled their pastries. Oh, the joys I was missing! Their beautiful execution and flavor! Yummy! The strawberry cake was so amazing, I have sworn to Eric that I will try to replicate it at home. This lovely shop had a splendid spread for us – it was all so lovely! Let’s let the photos tell the story:

Fourth Stop – The Cookie Studio in Decatur – “Cookies With A Cause.” We were set to see how they make their luscious cookies, but time was running short (not anyone’s fault but the rain…)  I loved this little shop. The folks were so nice, the cookies were so good. Before we arrived, we were polling each other in the car about our favorite cookies. Ginger was bandied about…and lo and behold, guess who had some delicious ginger cookies? Yup, you guessed it, The Cookie Studio. They also had some killer lemon bars….I love lemon bars. It was a shame we couldn’t spend more time here…but I know where to go for cookies in the future!

Last sweet stop before lunch, Sweet N’ Sinful in Avondale Estates might have been my favorite (but it’s so hard to choose!). Layne Whitehead-Lee struck me as one of the kindest people on the planet and everything I sampled (and trust me, I sampled EVERYTHING) was beyond compare. The brownies were sweet, but not too sweet, the mini ganache cupcakes thrilled me and all of us were crazy for the french toast cupcakes topped with maple frosting. Thanks to Layne, I might just stop baking all together and just pick up the phone to order from Sweet N’Sinful! Also, she had the coolest “Cookie Corner” with every type of cookie cutter known to man on the wall. I love that!

And then, it was time for lunch back at Fais Do-Do. Black Tie Barbecue was our caterer for this portion of the tour and they did a fantastic job.  With platters of spicy chicken, savory salmon, tasty rice pilaf and some of the best bok choy I have ever eaten, they put a delicious cap on a wonderful day.

This day was as close to Willy Wonka as adults ever get. And that is a precious, precious thing indeed.

Thank you, Shameeka and Denise. I can’t wait to do it all again! And bring more friends with me next time!

xoxo, Patti